Nowadays when I log into facebook and look at the list my schoolmates in Penang Free School, I've been thinking to myself : "Half of them are in Singapore".
What have we done to cause so much human talent to go just a short hop, skip and jump across the water ? And I realize that it's not really "we", and that I could just as easily be in their shoes. After all, they and I have similiar profiles : non-malays who did not attend a Malaysian university.
http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/columnists/john-lee/8557-a-wish-for-a-better-merdeka
I work with many Malays, and some of them are really quite capable. The same can be said of the Chinese, Indian and dan-lain-lain staff I've worked with. But maybe my circumstances can't be used as a definitive example since I'm in the urban, middle class category. And yet, it's a category that's growing in Malaysia.
I do think that an affirmative action policy was necessary back in 1969. My question is : "When is it going to end ?"
It's a fact that huge chunks of non-Malay Malaysian talent are working overseas. And those who go overseas are usually in the top tier. As for those left behind, of all races, there is no way of learning from these people simply because they're not in Malaysia. There is no way of utilizing their talents in the interest of Malaysia simply because they've chosen to work overseas as their work can be judged on merit.
I find myself asking : "What if Lee Kuan Yew had been Prime Minister of Malaysia ?"
Can you imagine how much progress Malaysia, with all it's natural resources, would have made ? Where would we be now ?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
爱美的天性
都说爱美是女人的天性，这句话应该是没有错。
因为爱美，有人去整容。
因为爱美，可以忍受打羊胎素，肉杆菌。
因为爱美，可以天天跑美容院，乖乖地把辛苦赚来的钱送给别人。
当然，本人没有那种闲情和金钱。也不想把自己变成明星脸。
平日不会做的事情有时侯在特殊的情况下倒是会试试。
就比如今天，因为义卖买了固本，不用也是浪费，结果狠狠地宠了自己。
先按摩，让后再彩绘指甲。
既然要做就全套，结果是这样。。。
特地选了蓝色，够特别。也许是唯一一次，要留个特别的回忆。
因为爱美，有人去整容。
因为爱美，可以忍受打羊胎素，肉杆菌。
因为爱美，可以天天跑美容院，乖乖地把辛苦赚来的钱送给别人。
当然，本人没有那种闲情和金钱。也不想把自己变成明星脸。
平日不会做的事情有时侯在特殊的情况下倒是会试试。
就比如今天，因为义卖买了固本，不用也是浪费，结果狠狠地宠了自己。
先按摩，让后再彩绘指甲。
既然要做就全套，结果是这样。。。
特地选了蓝色，够特别。也许是唯一一次，要留个特别的回忆。
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Catriona's 1st Painting
She told me what colour paint she wanted to use. I mixed the paint for her and handed her the paint brush. She took it from me and dab-brush-scratched on the paper and..... voila!
Now, I'm not saying that she has any artistic talent whatsoever, and I do have a penchant for using self-made wallpaper (it's unique, you see...), but I do think that this makes a pretty decent one.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Ooooooooohhhhhh.....
Here's a little thrill. I picked up a little bauble in a minor competition :
http://www.malaysianmensa.org/
It's not so much the prize as it is the affirmation that I can do something halfway-decent-well.
http://www.malaysianmensa.org/
It's not so much the prize as it is the affirmation that I can do something halfway-decent-well.
0400 hours
Just the other night....... at around 0400 hours......... when the all of Malaysia was fast asleep........ and the view at my balcony looked like this.......
I was just looking at Catriona..........
I was just looking at Catriona.......... 
whn I heard "Barney?" .........
And it made me wonder : Do babies dream of Barney at night ?
Saturday, August 9, 2008
080808
等了好久，总与等到全世界都期待已久的奥运开幕礼。
结果。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。
因为小妖女觉得我应该更积极的把工作做好要我留班。回到家的时候只看到运动员入场。
真背。
还好今天看重播，还是没有看到之前的1小时。整体的构思和设计都非常得体。没有像上届在雅典的时候搞了个不中不西。今年主题说：一个世界，一个梦想。如果全世界的人都可以有一个梦想的话，那会是什么呢？
如果完美一点的话，应该会是世界和平。大家和平共处。可悲的是，这种主题往往只在运动会的时候才会被提起。又不见8国峰会的时候提起？
蛮感动的几项环节：
- 2008个天真孩童的脸--世界本来就应该是这样的。
- 西川地震的那位小孩--希望在明天。
- 台北代表进场时，观众的欢呼--本事同根生。
- 太极环节--不晓得，就是蛮感动的。
艰巨的任务才开始，16天后让我们再来看中国这次的成绩单吧！
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
One year ago today ...
... This happened.
I've got to give credit, so here's the link :
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/
So this Gary Dzen guy was happy, I was chuffed, and a whole bunch of Celtics fans joined in for an adventure. I'm not sure how many Celtics fans there are in Malaysia, though......
It's not popular culture to support losing teams and the Celtics, despite their storied history, had been losing for years.
Still, everything changed with the trades to get this trio together. Now the Celtics have won another NBA championship and I'm looking forward to next season.
Well, there's Man United and the EPL first, of course, but you get what I mean ...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Singapore Trip (Reprise)
I thought that I would give my two sen worth, now that the Singapore trip has been mentioned, by adding some phtographs. Not that two sen is worth much, maybe a teaspoonful of petrol.
We went to the National Musuem of Singapore on an impromptu trip - the alternative was shopping, which I wasn't keen on.
This is outside a stretch of restaurants/cafes and inside the museum building. Really cool ! Made me want to sit down and chill out.
We went to the National Musuem of Singapore on an impromptu trip - the alternative was shopping, which I wasn't keen on.
This is outside a stretch of restaurants/cafes and inside the museum building. Really cool ! Made me want to sit down and chill out.
This is the roof at the entrance hall of the museum. Reputedly the most beautiful piece of architecture in the building. You can see why it's got that reputation. It's the stained glass windows, in case you're wondering.
In the absence of beaches, Singaporeans have learned to adapt when lounging at the waterfront. At least it's got a nice view of ... er, cranes.
These are my favourite phtos from the trip :
A busload of tourists at the promenade.
From another angle.
The Singapore skyline in the middle of town.
My opinion of Singapore after this trip ?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Why I Do What I Did
I don’t watch much television.
Am I proud of it ? No, I’m matter of fact.
It’s a decision that I made almost 20 years ago. I looked at my time allocation at that time as I realized that I needed time to study. I had just started working, and was still studying for the CIMA exams then, and I needed to carve out some time for studies. I had time to split between work, study, sports and television (which I watched quite a bit back then) and I realized that 24 hours a day were not enough to fit everything in.
Work I had to do because, well, one needs to eat.
Study I had to do because, well, it was the most obvious way I could see to progress in my career.
Sports I did because I liked it a lot and also because, well, you need to be fit if you want to stay alert. And being alert helps when it comes to studying. My chess background helped convince me of this as I used to play 8-10 hour stretches when competing in tournaments.
Television I decided I had to dispense with. And I have no cause to regret having made that decision way back then.
I guess in a way I had to look at it dispassionately.
Don’t get me wrong : there’s nothing I like better than to come back from work and just plant myself in front of the television for hours on end. You’re entertained while resting and you don’t have to strain your brain cells too much. There aren’t that many television programmes that strain your brain cells much anyway.
But back to why I looked at it dispassionately.
I guess when I weighted the pros and cons of watching television, I realized that the cons were a lot more than the pros.
We’re talking about time to exercise, time to socialize, time to read a book and smell the flowers, time to enjoy a hot cup of coffee with friends, time to play in the swimming pool with kids and all the other opportunities in life that pass us by when we’re seated in front of the tube.
And on the pro side of the equation, we are entertained by watching actors doing exactly those same things on television.
We’re also talking about how watching television conditions our tendencies. It’s called passive entertainment for a reason. You’re passive as you sit in front of the tube and absorb it’s contents and you become passive as you get conditioned to sitting in front of the tube for hours on end. I don’t think you find too many businessmen watching television for hours a day unless you count watching the business news as passive entertainment. Heck, can you even consider watching the business news as entertainment ?
We’re also talking about how it affects your schedule. I once went out briefly with a girl who watched a lot of television. She cut short one date because it was time to rush back to catch a series. She cut short phone conversations because it was time to watch a show. Most of her plans revolved around catching this show or that series, and when that show ended, she was still sitting in front of the tube because …………. well, she’s already there, isn’t she ? So might as well watch.
I cut short the relationship.
I just couldn’t envision a life where so much revolved around television. Meals, conversations, play time, trips………. frankly, I felt that the price was too much to pay no matter how attractive the girl may have been. And I don’t even want to go into how an environment like that affects children.
I see kids and youths nowadays who are sat in front of the television or playing video games for hours and all I see is wasted youth. I’m not talking about how it affects their learning and studying habits, or how it affects their social skills, or how it blunts their creativity. All I see is them sitting in front of a screen for hours on end – wasted time, wasted youth. Adults sit in front of a screen for hours too, but they call it working. And Astro advertising itself as the education channel for kids just makes me sick. Of course, this is my own personal opinion…… just in case they feel that they should sue me.
And I do make a caveat for retired folk who have to fill up their excess hours somehow. There are many things that they can do, but there are also many hours for them to fill so I don’t quibble in their case. In the absence of something better to do, I guess television is the alternative.
But for younger folk whose hours are more precious because they have more to do, and are physically more capable of doing it……….. television is a bane. Watching romance movies doesn’t mean that one is being swept off one’s feet, watching the education channel doesn’t mean that one is smart and no, watching football or tennis doesn’t mean that one has exercised. One has merely watched somebody else getting some exercise. It’s an illusion that too many youth buy into. It’s why America has so many obese people even as their television shows are filled with the likes of Paris Hilton and Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey.
I admit that I have picked up tips and tricks and whatnot watching sports on Astro. But I still had to go out to play myself to be able to use those tips and tricks. And that’s why we have regiments of arm chair critics who say that Rooney should have done this or that and it’s easy because they don’t realize how difficult it is technically to do something at speed in a fast paced environment.
It’s easy to watch the education channel and say that I have learned something even though what is learned is frequently of little practical use. It’s easy to see cute couples holding hands or cuddling because you never have to see them putting out the trash or taking a dump. Or having plastic surgery so that they can be said cute couple.
It’s easy to do all that and live in a world where explosions don’t kill the action hero, and the underdog always wins, and rain doesn’t make the romantic star wet unless they want to show how miserable and desperate and heart broken he is.
Almost 20 years ago, I chose to leave that world. I have no regrets.
Am I proud of it ? No, I’m matter of fact.
It’s a decision that I made almost 20 years ago. I looked at my time allocation at that time as I realized that I needed time to study. I had just started working, and was still studying for the CIMA exams then, and I needed to carve out some time for studies. I had time to split between work, study, sports and television (which I watched quite a bit back then) and I realized that 24 hours a day were not enough to fit everything in.
Work I had to do because, well, one needs to eat.
Study I had to do because, well, it was the most obvious way I could see to progress in my career.
Sports I did because I liked it a lot and also because, well, you need to be fit if you want to stay alert. And being alert helps when it comes to studying. My chess background helped convince me of this as I used to play 8-10 hour stretches when competing in tournaments.
Television I decided I had to dispense with. And I have no cause to regret having made that decision way back then.
I guess in a way I had to look at it dispassionately.
Don’t get me wrong : there’s nothing I like better than to come back from work and just plant myself in front of the television for hours on end. You’re entertained while resting and you don’t have to strain your brain cells too much. There aren’t that many television programmes that strain your brain cells much anyway.
But back to why I looked at it dispassionately.
I guess when I weighted the pros and cons of watching television, I realized that the cons were a lot more than the pros.
We’re talking about time to exercise, time to socialize, time to read a book and smell the flowers, time to enjoy a hot cup of coffee with friends, time to play in the swimming pool with kids and all the other opportunities in life that pass us by when we’re seated in front of the tube.
And on the pro side of the equation, we are entertained by watching actors doing exactly those same things on television.
We’re also talking about how watching television conditions our tendencies. It’s called passive entertainment for a reason. You’re passive as you sit in front of the tube and absorb it’s contents and you become passive as you get conditioned to sitting in front of the tube for hours on end. I don’t think you find too many businessmen watching television for hours a day unless you count watching the business news as passive entertainment. Heck, can you even consider watching the business news as entertainment ?
We’re also talking about how it affects your schedule. I once went out briefly with a girl who watched a lot of television. She cut short one date because it was time to rush back to catch a series. She cut short phone conversations because it was time to watch a show. Most of her plans revolved around catching this show or that series, and when that show ended, she was still sitting in front of the tube because …………. well, she’s already there, isn’t she ? So might as well watch.
I cut short the relationship.
I just couldn’t envision a life where so much revolved around television. Meals, conversations, play time, trips………. frankly, I felt that the price was too much to pay no matter how attractive the girl may have been. And I don’t even want to go into how an environment like that affects children.
I see kids and youths nowadays who are sat in front of the television or playing video games for hours and all I see is wasted youth. I’m not talking about how it affects their learning and studying habits, or how it affects their social skills, or how it blunts their creativity. All I see is them sitting in front of a screen for hours on end – wasted time, wasted youth. Adults sit in front of a screen for hours too, but they call it working. And Astro advertising itself as the education channel for kids just makes me sick. Of course, this is my own personal opinion…… just in case they feel that they should sue me.
And I do make a caveat for retired folk who have to fill up their excess hours somehow. There are many things that they can do, but there are also many hours for them to fill so I don’t quibble in their case. In the absence of something better to do, I guess television is the alternative.
But for younger folk whose hours are more precious because they have more to do, and are physically more capable of doing it……….. television is a bane. Watching romance movies doesn’t mean that one is being swept off one’s feet, watching the education channel doesn’t mean that one is smart and no, watching football or tennis doesn’t mean that one has exercised. One has merely watched somebody else getting some exercise. It’s an illusion that too many youth buy into. It’s why America has so many obese people even as their television shows are filled with the likes of Paris Hilton and Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey.
I admit that I have picked up tips and tricks and whatnot watching sports on Astro. But I still had to go out to play myself to be able to use those tips and tricks. And that’s why we have regiments of arm chair critics who say that Rooney should have done this or that and it’s easy because they don’t realize how difficult it is technically to do something at speed in a fast paced environment.
It’s easy to watch the education channel and say that I have learned something even though what is learned is frequently of little practical use. It’s easy to see cute couples holding hands or cuddling because you never have to see them putting out the trash or taking a dump. Or having plastic surgery so that they can be said cute couple.
It’s easy to do all that and live in a world where explosions don’t kill the action hero, and the underdog always wins, and rain doesn’t make the romantic star wet unless they want to show how miserable and desperate and heart broken he is.
Almost 20 years ago, I chose to leave that world. I have no regrets.
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